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Gatha defeated Azerbaijan’s Fatima Huseynli 7-1, Great Britain’s Thea Rogers 6-0 and Germany’s Katharina Bauer 6-4 to set a last-16 date with third-ranked Korean Lim Siheyon.
Olympians Deepika Kumari and Ankita Bhakat fell within the third spherical.
Sixth-time unfortunate.
India’s most adorned archer Deepika Kumari as soon as once more did not rise above her acquainted inconsistency, crashing out within the spherical of 32 on the World Championships in Gwangju.
Despite being pre-seeded into the third spherical after a sixth-place end in qualification, the four-time Olympian Deepika was outshot by Indonesia’s unheralded Diananda Choirunisa in a five-setter.
All eyes will now be on Friday’s (September 12, 2025) spherical of 16, the place Gatha faces the hardest problem of her budding profession in opposition to the reigning Paris Olympic champion and world No 1 Lim Si-hyeon.
Gatha Anandrao Khadake wins in opposition to Germany within the Recurve Women’s Individual and advances to the Pre-Quarterfinals in opposition to Korea on 12 September in Gwangju.#ArcheryIndia#CrewIndia#WorldArcheryChampionships#NTPC
— ARCHERY ASSOCIATION OF INDIA (@india_archery) September 11, 2025
The 22-year-old Korean, in red-hot type, had eradicated Ankita Bhakat 6-2 with six good 10s throughout two units.
For India, the younger Gatha stays their final hope and it stays to be seen if the debutant from Pune manages to win the nation its first medal in recurve part, since Den Bosch in 2019.
In this version, India have gained a historic males’s group gold and blended group silver, each coming within the compound part.
Deepika’ downfall
The nerves have been all too acquainted for the previous world No 1 Deepika who has did not win a medal from a number of Olympics.
Deepika started poorly with a 25 in opposition to Diananda’s 27 to path 0-2. She recovered within the second with a 28 to degree 2-2 as her rival faltered, however consistency abandoned her once more.
The Indonesian slammed in two 10s and a 9 within the third set, forcing Deepika into the purple ring for a 27-29 defeat, slipping to 2-4.
Deepika’s finest got here within the fourth set with a 29, however Diananda matched her arrow for arrow to remain 5-3 forward.
Needing to win the decider, Deepika faltered with an 8, the set ending 27-27, sufficient for Diananda to maneuver via 6-4.
For Deepika, it was one more early exit from the Worlds — her sixth marketing campaign with out a medal — underlining the massive gulf between her popularity and outcomes on the game’s largest stage.
Gatha on rise
If Deepika floundered, Gatha displayed composure and precision, defying her age.
Seeded 14th after her 666 factors in qualifying, {the teenager} needed to begin from spherical one.
She cruised previous Azerbaijan’s Fatima Huseynli 7-1 (26-26, 27-25, 27-26, 28-24) and blanked Britain’s Thea Rogers 6-0 (28-27, 27-26, 29-28) whereas displaying consistency and management.
Her largest take a look at got here within the third spherical in opposition to the world No 8 German Olympian and former World Cup bronze medallist Michelle Kroppen Bauer. But Gatha, ranked a lowly 176th on this planet, confirmed no worry.
Across 15 arrows within the contest, Gatha shot three units of 28 and by no means dropped under 27, her worst being a solitary 8 displaying an astonishing degree of management for her age.
Gatha opened with a 28-26 win, capitalising on Bauer’s early 8.
The German responded strongly within the second set with two 10s, however a pricey 7 meant it ended 27-27.
Bauer edged the third 28-27 as Gatha’s lone 8 left her trailing 3-3 total.
But the teenager confirmed outstanding metal below stress. She shot an ideal 10 and two 9s for an additional 28-28 draw within the fourth, tying the match 4-4.
In the decider, she held her nerve with one 10 and two 9s for a 28, whereas the German did not discover a 10.
The 6-4 triumph sealed Gatha’s place within the last-16, making her the one Indian recurve archer to progress that far.
The Maharashtra teenager, who made her senior debut on the Madrid World Cup in July, had already proven her potential by reaching the pre-quarters there.
Earlier this 12 months, she shocked everybody on the nationwide trials by capturing 686 in qualification — the very best throughout genders — earlier than sealing her berth as India’s third recurve lady on the Worlds behind Deepika and Ankita.
The rivalry between the veteran and the prodigy had simmered because the National Games in Uttarakhand the place they clashed in a tense shoot-off semifinal.
But on present type, it’s the teenager who carries India’s hopes in recurve part.
The outcomes
Recurve: Individual: Women: Ankita Bhakat bt Elena Bendikova (Slo) 7-3 (1st spherical), bt Rezza Octavia (Pol) 6-0 (2nd spherical), misplaced to Lim Siheyon (Kor) 2-6 (third spherical); Gatha Khadake bt Fatima Huseynli (Aze) 7-1 (1st spherical), bt Thea Rogers (Gbr) 6-0 (2nd spherical), bt Katharina Bauer (Ger) 6-4 (third spherical); Deepika Kumari obtained byes (1st and 2nd rounds), misplaced to Diananda Choirunisa (Ina) 4-6 (third spherical).
(With inputs from PTI)
